The Spots

A massive pile of Maine lobster, mostly of that coveted claw and knuckle variety, mixed with a tiny dash of mayo, some lemon juice (key!), minced celery, and spices. Greenpoint is currently serving one of our favorite new lobster rolls.

Mary’s is the OG NYC lobster roll. Its signature mountain of a certain shade of pink lobster and shoestring fries is one of the most recognizable and influential rolls in the world. It’s also one of the most expensive. Pay your respects, every once in a while.

This is one creamy lobster roll. Massive lobster chunks, and a potent lemony mayo is what you’ll find, along with celery. Like at Mary’s, you get a huge pile of salty shoestring fries, too. It’s the antithesis to the purist simplicity of Luke’s, but is still one of the best lobster rolls you’ll find anywhere.

NYC’s most ubiquitous lobster roll, you can grab a Red Hook Lobster Pound roll pretty much anywhere food vendors are found. They seem to pop up at every market, outdoor food festival, and street corner. Their rolls are solid, well-priced, and identifiable by a very specific, paprika-heavy spice topping medley. We highly discourage adding bacon to it, which is one of the options and has always felt very weird to us.

Don’t forget about the The Mermaid Inn. Their New England inspired roll deserves respect, as it’s one of the original restaurants to bring the beach to the urban jungle before all these other newbie lobster roll peddlers jumped in the mix. Heavy on the lobster, heavy on the mayo, heavy on the spices, it all sits very nicely between the creases of a split hot dog bun. Also, the Old Bay fries it comes with are the shiiiiit.

A warm Connecticut style roll that’s all lobster, spices and finely sliced scallions. They layer it on a leaf of lettuce, which, honestly, is unnecessary and we always remove. Enjoy it during the summer on their big outdoor patio, with one of their excellent cocktails.

The lobster roll isn’t the reason to come to North River Lobster Co., a floating restaurant on the Hudson River. It’s all about the location. YOU’RE EATING A LOBSTER ROLL ON A BOAT THAT FLOATS AROUND MANHATTAN. For $18, this roll is a steal, even if it lacks a bit of flavor.

It should come as no surprise that the most valuable asset at the restaurant extension of long time Chelsea Market lobster peddlers The Lobster Place is a lobster roll. That's true of both the warm, butter drenched “CT” roll and the cold “ME” roll. In both cases, you’re going to need to wear a bib. Prepare to get messy.